


Drive Thru Panic

by FunkMcLovin



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Fast Food, Lalondes - Freeform, cringe comedy, drive thru, lalonde zine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:42:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25315486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FunkMcLovin/pseuds/FunkMcLovin
Summary: Rose and Roxy have some trouble coming home from WizCon.Made for theThe Lalonde Zine!
Kudos: 8





	Drive Thru Panic

An air freshener dangled from the rear-view mirror of Rose's car as it trundled down the highway, thudding against a little pot-hole, sending the air freshener bobbing up and down. Roxy made a grunt of annoyance.

"You really oughtta upgrade to a smoother driving experience," she said, eyeing Rose. The sisters didn't get on each others' nerves usually, but today's excursion was getting as close as it ever did.

"My car is fine," Rose insisted with a quiet dignity.

Viewed from the exterior, the car Rose was driving was decidedly NOT "fine," as she suggested. The beat-up Olds Cutlass was hanging together by a thread, literally so, as Rose had tied the bumper up with a piece of lavender-colored twine. Perhaps a few years ago it would have looked "rustic," a lovely, faded purple finish wrapping around the body, but now, with paint chipping and windows hanging onto doors for dear life, Rose's ride was as bumpy outside as it was within. Another pothole demonstrated this.

"Oof," Roxy said, again, as Rose took the exit ramp.

"Where should we eat?" Asked Rose. The duo were on their way home from a trip to ArcaneCon, the annual convention for witches, wizards, and enthusiasts thereof. The mention of eating seemed to make Roxy forget about the failing car and her sister's bullheadedness.

"I've always wanted to try Sonic," Said Roxy, pointing to a sign for said establishment on the off-ramp.

"Sounds fine to me. Your desire wouldn't be informed by sharing a name with a certain hedgehog, would it?" Rose smiled coyly, turning onto the main street, cars ambling past casually.

"No," Roxy said defensively. It was a lie. Rose's Cutlass pulled into the Sonic. She peered around, a little confused.

"Where should I park?" Rose said, peering around for yellow spaces.

"It's a drive-in, dummy. You order from your car. Haven't you ever been to a drive in?"

"No," said Rose defensively. It was a lie. Rose tentatively drove into a queue of cars approaching the speaker where orders were made. Her grip on the wheel tightened a little.

"Uh, are you okay, Rosie?" asked Roxy, watching her sister carefully. Rose wasn't new to driving, of course, but as a rule, she didn't use drive-thrus. She wasn't quite sure what the source of her fear was, but the idea of having to speak through a speaker always creeped Rose out a little bit. As the cars slowly progressed, Rose's anxiety got more and more pronounced, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

"Rose, we can eat somewhere else if-"

"It's fine." Rose said, cracking a grimace, an unconvincing smile as they approached the speaker.

Rose grasped the handle of her window crank, beginning to turn it. With horror, she realized it was stuck.

"Welcome to Sonic, what can I get for you?" The muffled sound of the employee over the speaker said. Rose's window was still up.

"J-just a moment!" Rose insisted, struggling with the crank. She swallowed thickly, sweating profusely, now. She felt the eyes of both Roxy and every car behind them in line.

CRACK.

"Shit," Rose gasped, the handle of the window-crank coming loose in her hand. Rose's anxiety was beginning to spread to Roxy, too, now, who said in a panic,

"Just open the door!" Hastily, Rose opened her door a crack just in time to hear the employee repeat in an irritated voice,

"Welcome to Sonic, what can I get you?"

Shit. Rose looked at Roxy desperately. In their jumbled panic, they failed to decide what to order.

"What do you want?" Rose asked Roxy, her voice shrill and demanding. Roxy's eyes flicked to the menu. God, it was complicated. Value meals, sandwich numbers... She was sure under normal circumstances, she'd be able to discern what she wanted, but now? Under this insurmountable pressure? She balked.

"Well?" Said the employee's crackling voice. A car honked behind them. Rose considered peeling out of the drive, but the curb and the cars behind them boxed the Lalondes in!

"Hamburger!" Rose blurted out.

"Alright, one hamburger. Anything else?"

"No!" Rose blurted out again. There was a moment of horrid, crackling silence over the speaker before the employee sighed.

"Go ahead and pull to the window."

The wait to the window was hell. Rose and Roxy, both red in the face, sunk low in their seats, hoping no one recognized them. They didn't even seem to care that they'd only acquired a single food item.

"Shit," Rose breathed, suddenly sitting upright. Roxy watched as her sister fumbled around in her pockets. Rose turned to Roxy, horrified. "I lost my wallet at the con."

Roxy hadn't brough her wallet along, and a hurried grasp through the seat cushions and their pockets only produced a modest eighty-nine cents.

"Do you remember the total?" Rose asked, her voice a hoarse whisper. Roxy shook her head, her curls bobbing by her cheeks, which burnt a humiliated crimson.

"Eighty nine cents... Fuck!" Rose hastily searched for another bill, anything, as the car in front of them at the window sped off with their food.

"Only eighty-nine cents??" Roxy said, as though her forlorn words would materialize more money from thin air.

The car behind them honked. With a terrible lurch in their stomachs, Rose and Roxy pulled to the window. The employee, a young man of about eighteen, stood there with a bored, irritated expression.

"A dollar eighty-seven," he said, extending a hand. Rose swalowed, heart pounding.

"We have this," she said, offering her handful of dirty coins to the disdainful employee like two serfs presenting their meager crops to a merciless king. King Sonic's lip curled into a frown.

"Okay," he said, dumping the handful of change into the drawer without bothering to count it, tossing the bag to the Lalondes like a dead animal. Rose couldn't have sped away more quickly.

Back on the highway, their minds were decidedly off the rumbling of Rose's car. They were silent for a long time before one of them at last opened the bag.

"Hey..." Roxy said, her face lighting up. "They must've given us the wrong order!"

"Really?" Rose didn't take her eyes off the road, but she leaned closer, listening as Roxy pulled four sandwiches from the bag, with a large fry, to boot.

As far as the duo were concerned, this was a deserving feast, and they dug in with abandon, sharing the fries over hearty laughs. Their high spirits didn't last long, for the road delivered them a sickening THUD. Rose momentarily lost control of the wheel, spilling her ill-gotten chicken sandwich on herself. She pulled into the shoulder, slamming the brakes.

Panting, the sisters exited the car. Seems like the thing had finally crapped out on them- The impact of one of the potholes had punctured the tire. There it sat, flat as could be.

"You have a spare, right?" Roxy said, inspecting the damage. Rose had already hauled the spare from her trunk, letting it fall to the ground with a heavy bounce.

"I do, but I don't have the tools to replace it. We'll have to call a towing company."

Roxy did some googling, calling a towing company. They consumed the rest of their food while they waited.

"You know, I think there's something wrong with us," said Roxy through a bite of chicken sandwich. "We were more terrified about ordering from Sonic than getting a tire popped on the highway. They shared a laugh as the tow truck approached. A grubby man stepped out, tilting his hat in a greeting.

"Howdy, ladies," he said, leaning down to inspect the damage. "I'll have ya fixed up in a jiff. And since it's so close to the shop, I'll run you a discount on the service. Ain't nothin' but a tire replacement, anyway."

Rose and Roxy exchanged a look. Without Rose's wallet, they'd spent the last of their cash at Sonic.

"How much after the discount?" Roxy asked slowly.

"Well..." The gentleman pulled out a pocket calculator, tapping on it with the end of his pencil. He turned the calculator around, showing it to Roxy, then Rose, who read it aloud in unison.

"Eighty nine cents."


End file.
